The There There Letter: Canned Tomatoes, Chinatown, and Champagne.
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Canned Tomatoes …
I grew up with a strong scent of cooking tomatoes. There was a cannery in our town, where we lived in a new subdivision surrounded by tomato fields. I moved away, the cannery closed (and its property became a subdivision), and I never again smelled boiling tomatoes all of July and August. Cannery gone, therefore, all tomatoes must go outside our area for processing. Silly DAH. Turns out I live near one of the largest tomato canneries in the world, and never stopped to think about it, despite its impressive sign. Lesson learned: Keep paying attention, even if you think you know the truth.
https://thetherethere.com/yolo-tomato/
Second up this week, Chinatown …
As in the 1974 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. A few weeks ago I started reading Peter Ackroyd's "Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life" after seeing the Granville Redmond exhibition at the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento (Chaplin and Redmond were friends). Then I picked up Ackroyd's "Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life" and wondered at the silent era cinema era that inspired both movie directors. Now I'm in the middle of Sam Wasson's "The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood" and was brought up short reading about "old" generation in 1969 still enjoying chili, with Hitchcock, at Chasen's in Los Angeles, while the young movie crowd was turning to trendy foodie joints like The Aware Inn … wait a minute, I thought. I was just reading about The Aware Inn (one of the first natural food restaurants) in Jonathan Kauffman's "Hippie Food." Without even trying, I stumbled into a synchronicity of Los Angeles stuff. This Chinatown book is awesome, by the way. Such a merging of life and art at the end of an era.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/books/review-big-goodbye-chinatown-hollywood-sam-wasson.html
Third up this week, Champagne …
I'm determined to drink more sparkling wine, and to spend less money on wine. Christine sent me a link to a January 2020 MyRecipes post about the best value wines at Trader Joe's. I'm just going to quote Jenn Rice on The Party Bubbles:
"Trader Joe's Blanc de Blancs Brut is the cream of the crop. The king of cheap bubbles. The party trick. And quite frankly, something I vow to always have chilled and ready to drink in the fridge. I buy at least 3-4 bottles each Trader Joe's trip, as these bubbles are a complete steal at $6 a bottle—and they're quite tasty too. Think of it like this: You can have 10 bottles of this or one bottle of Champagne. I love Champagne, but this is how you throw parties, people. Line em' up and pop them open all night long. Your wallet will never freak out, I promise.
"To back up my two cents on wine, Natalie Stewart, sommelier at Fin & Fino, also fan-girls over these bubbles. "I love to stock up on this bottle for brunch or to have on hand for a last-minute invite to a friend’s place," Stewart notes. "The sparkling wine is crisp and refreshing, and perfect to drink alone or pair with oysters, cheese, or any appetizer with a little grease."
Tomorrow I'm going to TJ's.
https://www.myrecipes.com/convenience/budget-recipes/trader-joes-wine-guide
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Canned Tomatoes …
I grew up with a strong scent of cooking tomatoes. There was a cannery in our town, where we lived in a new subdivision surrounded by tomato fields. I moved away, the cannery closed (and its property became a subdivision), and I never again smelled boiling tomatoes all of July and August. Cannery gone, therefore, all tomatoes must go outside our area for processing. Silly DAH. Turns out I live near one of the largest tomato canneries in the world, and never stopped to think about it, despite its impressive sign. Lesson learned: Keep paying attention, even if you think you know the truth.
https://thetherethere.com/yolo-tomato/
Second up this week, Chinatown …
As in the 1974 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. A few weeks ago I started reading Peter Ackroyd's "Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life" after seeing the Granville Redmond exhibition at the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento (Chaplin and Redmond were friends). Then I picked up Ackroyd's "Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life" and wondered at the silent era cinema era that inspired both movie directors. Now I'm in the middle of Sam Wasson's "The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood" and was brought up short reading about "old" generation in 1969 still enjoying chili, with Hitchcock, at Chasen's in Los Angeles, while the young movie crowd was turning to trendy foodie joints like The Aware Inn … wait a minute, I thought. I was just reading about The Aware Inn (one of the first natural food restaurants) in Jonathan Kauffman's "Hippie Food." Without even trying, I stumbled into a synchronicity of Los Angeles stuff. This Chinatown book is awesome, by the way. Such a merging of life and art at the end of an era.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/books/review-big-goodbye-chinatown-hollywood-sam-wasson.html
Third up this week, Champagne …
I'm determined to drink more sparkling wine, and to spend less money on wine. Christine sent me a link to a January 2020 MyRecipes post about the best value wines at Trader Joe's. I'm just going to quote Jenn Rice on The Party Bubbles:
"Trader Joe's Blanc de Blancs Brut is the cream of the crop. The king of cheap bubbles. The party trick. And quite frankly, something I vow to always have chilled and ready to drink in the fridge. I buy at least 3-4 bottles each Trader Joe's trip, as these bubbles are a complete steal at $6 a bottle—and they're quite tasty too. Think of it like this: You can have 10 bottles of this or one bottle of Champagne. I love Champagne, but this is how you throw parties, people. Line em' up and pop them open all night long. Your wallet will never freak out, I promise.
"To back up my two cents on wine, Natalie Stewart, sommelier at Fin & Fino, also fan-girls over these bubbles. "I love to stock up on this bottle for brunch or to have on hand for a last-minute invite to a friend’s place," Stewart notes. "The sparkling wine is crisp and refreshing, and perfect to drink alone or pair with oysters, cheese, or any appetizer with a little grease."
Tomorrow I'm going to TJ's.
https://www.myrecipes.com/convenience/budget-recipes/trader-joes-wine-guide
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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